


Best friends

by Nathanoy25



Category: Beartown - Fredrik Backman
Genre: Benji needs a hug, Canon Compliant, Character Study, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Maya Needs A Hug, One-sided Kevin/Benji if you squint, Relationship Study, Suicidal Thoughts, They should hug each other at this point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:47:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29611020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nathanoy25/pseuds/Nathanoy25
Summary: Benji and Kevin always had a special friendship. They are so different but somehow managed to form a deep bond. What could possibly destroy their bond?Benji's POV of his encounter with Maya in the woods
Relationships: Kevin Erdahl & Benji Ovich
Kudos: 2





	Best friends

**Author's Note:**

> This fandom desperately needs more works and even though my writing isn't perfect I want to at least contribute :)
> 
> TW: Mentions of Rape and suicidal thoughts (so basically Canon)

Benji hated parties. Too many faces, too many people he couldn't fully trust. He may have seen most of them in school, but never outside of that. And who was to say that they were genuine there?

He himself had a persona in school, on the field, even at home. No one was to know his secret. No one was to know he was different.

He was just a hockey player, loyal to his best friend. Ever hiding, ever lurking in the corners. Hiding in the shadows when Kevin got all the spotlight.

It was better this way. Kevin liked the attention, he really did. They were different in many ways, but yet so similar. Polar opposites someone might say. Someone who doesn't know them definitely would. The popular poster boy and his brooding, mystical sidekick. They didn't know them.

The golden boy, Kevin, had to sacrifice his freedom in order to become who he is. Just to please his parents. His own wishes? Doesn't matter. You only scored 99% on the test? Shame on you.

He was self-sacrificing, never once considering his own well-being.

Benji was similar. He fouled to protect Kevin, he fought to protect Kevin, in fact, he got in fights to protect the ones he cares about. He doesn't care that they whisper behind his back, he doesn't care that they might hate him if they found out the truth.

Some, that know both boys well would say they are two sides of the same coin. But they didn't truly know them. They weren't there when they found the isle. They weren't there all those nights when Benji had to comfort Kevin after he “messed up” and didn't held up to his father's expectations.

They weren't there when Benji realized he was different when he realized he was gay. They weren't there for all the moments that Kevin and Benji shared. Together. They didn't get to see the pure happiness in Kevin's eyes when they were alone, far from expectations, far from reputations to uphold. Just the two of them.

So Benji agreed to go to parties, to placate his best friend and make him happy. Today was no different, but at some point, Benji had abandoned his friend and went into the woods. Kevin couldn't mess up that bad when Benji went away, right? He was just talking to some girl, what could go wrong?

The calming presence of the forest always helped to put his mind at ease. He often wondered if his father had also felt so calm when he ventured into the woods. He shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts. He wasn't going to follow his father _yet._

–

He had been mindlessly strolling through the area for a few hours now when he could hear panting not too far away. His head snapped up. He wasn't too far away from the street and therefore relatively close to the party again. They had won the game, after all, so he probably should show his head around once more.

First, he headed in the direction where the panting was coming from. He sped up his steps when he realized they were panicked breaths not just exhausted panting. Then he froze.

It was the girl from earlier. The one Kevin had flirted with. It wasn't hard to guess what had happened, judging from her appearance and expression. She was afraid of him. And probably rightfully so, since he and Kevin were close. Maya knew this. She was smart. He stared in shock at her. She stared at him with a crazed and panicked gaze.

The telltale signs of a car approaching awakened him from his trance and shattered his sense of reality with brutal force. _Kevin has done this to her...I...I don't know how he could do something like that..._

He controlled his features nodded at her once and turned around to handle the oncoming car if they were in fact searching for Maya and gave her time to regain her composure.

She didn't know him very well and he won't change that out of empathy. But she needed to know that he respected her privacy.

Because in reality Kevin and Benji were nothing alike.

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly feel like Benji definitely had some unresolved feelings for Kevin, even if he never voiced this aloud. Hence why I tried to hint at those buried feelings.  
> Comments, Kudos, and Critique are very much appreciated :)


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